Super E finished 2nd grade. He is still a whiz at math and aced every weekly test. OK, 1 week he missed 2 problems but that's only because the questions were trying to trick him and throw him off. He learned that lesson quickly! We loved Saxon Math and I'm thankful to my local friend Michele for letting me try her textbook this year. Super E still loves science and loved learning about different types of machines from combine harvesters, to fighter planes to submarines. His reading has greatly improved. It is still not his strongest subject, but the progress he has made makes me so proud of him! He actually read his children's Bible cover to cover, all by himself with very little help from me, all in 1 semester instead of taking the year to complete. Spelling is probably his worst subject but I account that to his struggles with reading in these early years. We just have a few math lessons left and continuing work with flashcards over the summer to make those math facts stick. But we always do math and reading through the summer regardless. A big shout out to my friend Amy in Nebraska for lending us her used curriculum again! I'll get it back to you ASAP. Can I be bold and ask to borrow 3rd grade next year? And maybe kindergarten for Quiet Tiger? Maybe?
Super C finished our favorite year yet. This particular grade tends to be the favorite among Sonlight Curriculum families. We learned all about Asian countries, African countries and Oceania. I'm astonished at how much of the Bible that we have read together. Check out the list of books he read this year:
Psalms
John
Philippians
Philemon
Colossians
Jude
Ecclesiastes
Job
1 Timothy
2 Timothy
Hebrews
Obadiah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
1 John
2 John
3 John
Revelation
Revelation
Matthew
We have read some great fiction and non-fiction. If you need some summer reading suggestions for your junior higher, please ask! Most are Newbury Award Winners. He started the year in Math doing Teaching Textbooks 7 and has more lessons in Teaching Textbooks Pre-Algebra to tackle this summer. Before we move, he should be nearly done with Pre-Algebra. Math is his forte and he finishes 2 years worth of math in 1 year. Science has been awesome this year teaching a lot about the human body, food and nutrition and one of our favorites: The History of Medicine. Fascinating book! Alas, I had the awkward task of teaching my pre-teen boy sex education, but I'd rather have him learn it at home than from anyone else. He's young and still blushes at the subject. Sweet and innocent still. We had high hopes for writing this year with Super C's writing blog. That never happened. I need to find a writing curriculum that we love. We'll try something different next year. Unfortunately, we had a bit of conflict with Super C this year. I learned that he had been skipping some reading assignments and lying about them. He did this once in public school and he obviously didn't learn his lesson. Many weeks were spent catching up, making up the reading he lied about. This summer we will listen to The Hobbit on CD from the library, following along in his school book. I've never read it, so I really want to do that together when we can really enjoy it and summertime is the best time to relax with a good book. Hopefully Super C has learned his lesson about lying about his schoolwork!
I'm planning to test Super C this year, but probably not until we have moved and settled into our new home. I have never done so before and it is not a state requirement where we live, but I think it's a good idea just for my own piece of mind. Believe me, I know my kids are learning and I know our curriculum is one of the very best out there. I know what college professors say about Sonlight kids and that's my driving force behind using it year after year despite the expense. Nonetheless, testing will be in Super C's near future.
As for Quiet Tiger, ugh, I struggle so. We pulled her out of public pre-school after only 1 month. Sending a formerly institutionalized child back to an institution proved to be a terrible idea. Terrible! We didn't do any homeschool pre-school curriculum at all. Nothing. Zilch. She wasn't ready. Yet I simply cannot imagine homeschooling this child! She's smart but her attention span (or lack thereof) and extreme need for control would drive me crazy as a teacher. I'm praying about her upcoming kindergarten year and the decision we have to make regarding her education.
Congratulations to my boys on another great year! Here's to an enjoyable, fun, adventurous summer, a much needed break from the daily grind of homeschool.
